Blood tests, skull x-rays & playdates

At the recommendation of her neurologist and pediatrician, we spent the morning at Children's the other day getting some blood work and having some x-rays taken of Little Miss Macy's skull.  Kenzie was cool with it, as she checked herself into Kids Camp, where she had SOO much fun playing with the doll house the whole time.  Macy, on the other hand, did not have the same luxury experience.  About five minutes being swaddled and restrained on a cold table while her head being (gently) squeezed between (soft) clamps while they took five pictures of her skull was not her idea of a good time, and she let the poor x-ray tech know it!  She also had a few choice words for the sweet gal drawing blood from her finger...enough to fill three viles.  The girl's got some pipes!  All-in-all, however, she handled it like a champ and was rewarded with stickers and jello.  Plus, a random nurse walking past us in the hallway was super sweet and gave her a soft, pink teddy bear.  That made it all worth-while!
So, back to the reason we were there:  Her anterior fontanel (fancy word for soft-spot) on the top of her head is still present and significantly open.  These skull bones generally fuse together and close by 12 months or at least, in most cases, 18 months of age.  We did not have huge reason for concern, but it was still a good idea to get a closer look at her bones and access their condition, make sure there are no abnormalities, diseases, deficiencies, etc... 
Good news to report...the skull films came back showing normal bones.  And the blood tests (Ionized Calcium Phosphates & Alkaline Phosphatase) also showed to be within normal range, albeit on the HIGH end of normal, normal none-the-less.  Or as doc put it "most likely representing a normal variant - whatever that means.  
I think the moral of this story as that, due to her having Down Syndrome, she is more predisposed to having a delayed closure of her fontanel (among other things), and that perhaps we should just get used to the fact that she has a "WIDER RANGE OF NORMAL" than most.  This theory is applied to most conditions.  This is okay, but still worth investigating further at times to ensure she is in optimal health  :-)
We will continue to monitor and measure the closure of her skull bones and are optimistic they will close on their own soon!

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As far as the rest of our week, we are just hanging out, trying to stay cool  :-)  We swam in a couple pools, ran through a few sprinklers, visited the library, had a sleepover with cousin Autumn, had a playdate with buddies, spent the day with my little sis Kylie and went to BounceU!

 Autumn can't get any alone time as she tries to play her DS.  Kenzie is very interested!

Macy too, of course!  She has also become quite fond of a few games on my iPhone as well  :-)

McKenzie was invited to sleepover at G&G Harnisch's house last week, just for fun.  Just her and Mason!  Afterall - Grandma & Grandpa's house is a place where cousins go to become friends.

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Autumn also came along to our friends house for a playdate  :-) Eatin' some yummy lunch!

 Vollen and Brady being oh so cooperative for my camera  :-)

 Sweet baby Claire, Macy and McKenzie play with some princess toys

Ha!  We got all four of the little ones to look at the camera at once, it IS a miracle  :-)

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Later, that same day, we joined up with some neighbors for some fun at BounceU.

 

 McKenna & Autmn

swing batter batter batter SWING!

 Macy had tons of fun in the bounce houses today!  Here is a picure of here saying to me "come on Mom, what are you waiting for, lift me up and let's go in!"

She's walking!  She took in upwards of 7-10 teeny steps at a time that day.  woo-hoo!  More to come on her walking milestone in a later post (this proud achievement necessitates a post all it's own!)   :-)

 what a silly girl!

 She has an uncanny ability to make some HILARIOUSLY EXPRESSIVE faces.  It is just too funny how her little features transform so quickly & effortlessly...no botox here folks!

:-)